System notifications appeared before
Haruto's eyes one after another.
[Level Up]
[Level Up]
[Level Up]
A faint glow surrounded him for a brief moment as the strength from the levels settled into his body.
Then another message appeared.
[The last member of the bandits is dead.]
[9/10]
A new notification followed immediately.
[New Skill Unlocked]
[Silent Walking]
Haruto let out a quiet breath as he read the messages. The forest around him returned to its usual calm, as if nothing had happened there moments ago.
He briefly checked his status in his mind, confirming the new skill and the changes from the level-ups.
So only the leader is left now, he thought.
Just as he lifted his head, his eyes suddenly focused on the space in front of him.
Miyuki appeared there.
Haruto had used his skill to call her to his side. Because she was now bound to him through the taming contract, he could summon her whenever he wished.
Unlike the first time, Miyuki did not look surprised. She had already felt the connection through their bond.
She looked at Haruto and then quickly glanced around the forest.
"So we killed all the bandits?" she asked quietly. "Now only the leader is left."
Her eyes returned to Haruto.
"But how did you know they would be weaker when the leader wasn't with them?"
Haruto looked at her calmly.
"When I first saw them earlier, something felt strange," he explained. "The other bandits didn't feel like they had any skills."
He paused for a moment before continuing.
"At first I wasn't completely sure. But when they attacked us, I realized something."
His eyes narrowed slightly as he remembered the moment.
"The leader has a skill. A type of skill that increases the strength of the people around him."
Miyuki listened carefully.
"That's why they felt stronger before,"
Haruto continued. "But once they separated from him, that power disappeared."
He looked deeper into the forest, toward the direction where the leader had gone.
"That's why I split them apart."
His voice grew quieter.
"Without the leader, they were much easier to defeat."
The forest wind rustled through the leaves above them.
Now only one enemy remained.
After a few minutes had passed, the bandit leader stopped chasing and decided to wait.
He stood near the edge of the forest path, his arms crossed as he glanced around impatiently. His men should have already returned by now.
But no one came.
Minutes slowly turned into hours.
The forest grew quieter as time passed. The sunlight had begun to shift, casting long shadows between the tall trees.
The leader's expression slowly darkened.
"Those idiots…" he muttered under his breath.
At first, he thought they were simply taking longer to track down the boy. But as more time passed without a single one of them returning, an uneasy feeling began to grow inside him.
Something was wrong.
Finally, the leader let out an irritated breath and began walking into the forest himself.
His heavy footsteps crushed the dry leaves beneath his boots as he followed the direction where his men had gone earlier.
"Hey!" he shouted after walking for a while.
His voice echoed faintly between the trees.
"Where are you all hiding?"
No reply came.
The silence of the forest only made his irritation grow.
He continued moving deeper between the trees, occasionally calling out to them again.
"Stop fooling around and answer me!"
Still nothing.
As he walked farther, the strange feeling in his chest slowly grew stronger. The forest felt too quiet… almost unnatural.
Then, after a few more minutes of walking, he finally reached the area where his men had been searching earlier.
The moment he stepped into the clearing—
He stopped.
His eyes widened in shock.